Nelson likins



(No Model.)

N. LIKIN'S. AGETYLBNE GAS GENERATOR.

No. 589,991. I Patented Sept. 14,1897.

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Y llrtrrrz "rnres NELSON LIKINS, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR OF TVO-FIFTHS TO F. R. SALISBURY AND \V. SATTERLEE, OF SAME PLACE.

AC ETYLEN E-GAS G EN ERATO R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 589,991, dated September 14, 1897.

Application filed October 3, 1396. Serial No. 607,762. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom, it may concern: lower end of this compartment is left open Be it known that I,NELs0N LIKINS, a citizen to receive the retort or caleium-carbid box E. of theUnited States, residing at Minneapolis, The three floors 'a a a are pierced and the in the county of Hennepin and State of Mincompartments B and C are connected by a 55 nesota, have invented a new and useful Imduct 6, having a cup orv funnel shaped upper provement in Acetylene-Gas Generators, of end. Within this duct I insert a gravitywhich the following is alfull,"clear, and exact valve f, having its shaft or body portion description, such as will'enable others skilled fluted or flanged and having a head adapted in the art to which my invention appertains to fit into the funnel-shaped upper endof the 60 to make and to use the same. 'ducte. A cord is attached to the upper end My invention relates to generators used or head of the valve f, passes through the in the production of illuminating-gas; and it crown of the cooling-chamber l3, thence over consists of a retort designed to receive cala pulley supported from said crown or cover, cium carbid,' from which acetylene gas is and attached to the crown of the telescope- 65 r 5 evolved, of a submergedcoil within a coolgasometer, hereinafter mentioned.

ing-chamber, through which the gas passes to The submerged coil D extends upward from a gasometer, by means of which it is robbed the roof of the retort-chamber 0, through the of a portion of the heat evolved through 'fioorsaomthenceinaspiral form to near the chemical action, of a gasometer in which it is crown of the coolin g-chambcr B,thenee down- 7o stored, and of a condenser by means of which ward to near the bottom of said chamber, it is robbed of a portion of its moisture, as, thence horizontally through its circumferenwill be hereinafterunderstood. tial wall, where it connects with a vertical My'invention is fully illustrated in the acpipe g,leading to the before-mentioned gascompanying drawings, which form a part of ometer, 75 z 5 this specificatiomin which-- Depending from the roof of the retort-cham- Figure l is a vertical section of my device; her 0 is an annular wall M. V p and Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of the gen- The retort or calcium-carbid holder E is deerator, taken on the line 2 2. tachable and may be withdrawn for the pur- Similar letters refer to similar parts in both pose of removing any residuum and for re- 80 0 views. v charging it with the calcium carbid. It con- A description in detail is as follows: j sists of the bottom 72., supporting four verti- A is a case(preferablycylindrical) divided cal cylinders, each larger than the other, thus horizontally into two compartments B and G. forming a central chamber F and two annu- The upper one,l3, is adapted to receive the coil lar chambers G and H. The smallest cylin- 85 D and to serve as acooling-chamber, and the der 1' and the next in size j are made of perfolower one, C, is adapted to receive the retort rated sheet metal, while the two larger ones E and to serve as a generator, as will herein- 7e and Z, are made of imperforate sheet metal. after be understood. These compartments Hence the annular chamber Ghas perforated B and O are separated by means of the floors walls, while the annular chamber H has solid 90 a a a, having vented air-spaces between walls. When this retort is in position, its them. cylinder m passes inside of the annular wall The crown or roof of the compartment B is M, while its cylinder Z passes outside the furnished with an aperture 1), by means of same-that is to say, the annular wall M which water may be admitted thereto, and shutsinto the annular chamber 11, thus form- 9 5 with the pipe 0, by means of which it may be ing (when the chamber II is filled.) a water drained. The circumferential side of the seal. compartment O (the lower portion of the case The retort is further provided with a pipe A) is pierced near its bottom an d near its top, N, which serves both as a supply and exhaust. the lower series of holes dbein g adapted to ad- It taps the annular chamber II at its bottom, I00 mit cold air thereto and the upper series d thence extends outward through a slit in the adapted to let the heated air therefrom. The 1 side of the case A, thence upward outside the said case, and terminates with a glass section having a funnel-shaped open top, thus serving as a water-gage for the annular chamber 11'.

The gasometer I and the condenser J are not unlike those in general use and therefore need no description herein.

In operating my device I first supply the box E with a quantity of calcium carbid broken into small pieces (for illustration, the size of eggs or smaller) and insert it within the case A, as shown in the drawings. I next open the stop-cock 0 of the water-pipe (2, thereby drawing water from the cooling-chamber B to fill the annular chamber II of the calcium-carbid box IE, thus sealing the latter, the glass water-gage showing when the water is at sufficient height. I then raise the gravity-valvef, (by pulling down the cord 29, which runs over the pulley q,) thereby letting a s mall quantity of water into the cylinder-chamber I which, passing through the perforations in its circumferential sides, saturates the lower strata of calcium carbid in the box E, when acetylene gas is at once liberated therefrom, which, passing through the interstices of the calcium carbid, accumulates in the retortchamber 0, and thence flows into the coil I). This is an important feature of the invention, for when water is admitted to the lower strata of calcium carbid acetylene gas is set free, which passes through the interstices of the carbid Without forming a paste upon its surface, which is the case when water is admitted to its upper strata. Now as the gas accumulates in the gasometerI above the water with which it is sealed it lifts the crown, (the movin g portion thereof, which slacks off the chain 19 and lets the valveffall into its seat, thereby shutting off the water from the calcium carbid, which temporarily suspends the generation of the gas. Then when the quantity of gas stored in the gasometer shall have been reduced sufficiently to allow the crown to fall it tightens the cord 17, thereby again lifting the valve f and letting on more water, when the generation will at once begin again.

It will thus be seen that my generator works automatically, and that there is therefore no great accumulation of gas in the gasometer, and therefore little danger of an explosion. The box L of the condenser J is a filter or puriher for the gas. In it I use slaked lime in the form of dry hydrates or the oxid of iron spread upon the trays. Through this the gas filters before passing in to the condenser.

In thus generating acetylene gas heat is evolved through chemical action, and I therefore pass the gas through the submerged coil D, by which means I rob it of a portion of the heat generated. \Vater is also taken up by the gas, which tends to clog the gauze strainers used in the burners, and I therefore pass it through the second submerged coil K, by which means I rob it of a portion thereof. The stop-cock r is for the purpose of venting the generator 13 while filling the Water seal II. The stop-cock s is for draining the water seal II. The stopcock 25 is for draining the condenser J, and the stop-cock a is for turning on or shutting off the gas from the build 111 llaving thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a gas-generator, the combination of a case, closed at its top and open at its bottom, horizontally divided into two compartments by two or more floors having vented air-spaces between them, the upper one of said compart- 1n ents being adapted to serve as a water-tank, and the lower one of said compartments being adapted to serve as a retort-chamber; said compartments being connected by means of a duct extending through the said floors, said duct having a gravity-valve therein, through the operation of which the flow of water from the said water-tank to the said retort-chamber is automatically controlled; a removable retort chambered within the retort-chamber, said retort being fashioned with double walls whereby it may be water-sealed, and having an annular calcium -carbid holder formed with perforated interior and exterior walls, whereby water maybe admitted to the lower strata of the calcium carbid; an annularwall extending downward from the said watertank to the said retort-chamber for the purpose of sealing the retort; a pipe extending from the said retort-chamberthrough the said water-tank thence to a telescope gas-holder; and a chain connecting the said gravity-valve with the dome of the said telescope gas-holder, whereby the said gravity-valve is operated, all substantially as shown and described.

2. In a gas-generator, the combination of a case horizontally divided into two compartments, said compartments being connected by a d not having a gravity-valve therein; a retort chambered within the lower one of said compartments, said retort being fashioned with double walls whereby it may be watersealed, and provided with an annular chamber having interior and exterior perforated walls adapted to hold calcium carbid or other gas-forming material, an annular wall extending downward from the upper into the lower chamber for the purpose of sealing said retort; a pipe leading from the lower through the upper of said chambers, thence to a telescope gas-holder, for the purpose of carrying off the gas, and a chain connecting the said gravity-valve with the dome of the said telescope gas-holder whereby said gravity-valve is operated substantially as shown and described.

3. In a gas-generator, the combination of the case A divided into two compartments B and O, by means of the floors ct, a, a; the duct 6 connecting the said compartments B and O the gravity-valve f operating within the said duct 6; the pipe D extending from the said compartment 0, through the said compartment B, thence to the gas-holder I; the retort E, having the annular chamber G fashioned with perforated Walls, adapted to hold calcium carbid or other gas-forming material, and with the annular chamber I-I fashioned with solid Walls adapted to hold Water for the purpose of sealing the same; the annular Wall M incased Within the annular chamber 11; the chain 19 connected with, and extending from the said gravity-valve f, to, and over or around the pulley q, thence to,

and connected with the dome of the said telescope gas-holder I, whereby the said gravityvalve f may be automatically operated; the purifying-box and the condensing-coil K, substantially as shown and described.

NELSON LIKINS.

In presence of- GAROLYNE PATOHIN, L. E. CHERRY. 

